JPH0123333B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an automatic clutch disengagement device that operates in conjunction with the operation of an anti-skid device installed in a vehicle or the like.

Originally, an anti-skid device was designed to detect the tendency of the wheels to lock up when a sudden braking force is applied while the vehicle is running, and automatically control the braking force to prevent the wheels from locking up. It is.

However, even if an anti-skid device is installed, if the brakes are applied suddenly on a road surface with a low coefficient of friction such as an icy road, the slip rate of the wheels will increase significantly or the wheels will temporarily lock. Occur.

In such a case, if the clutch is in the engaged state, the engine rotation speed will drop below idling due to a significant increase in the wheel slip rate, causing a knocking phenomenon in the engine and causing the detection signal of the wheel rotation speed detector of the anti-skid device to drop. Noise from the engine knocking mixes into the engine, making it impossible to accurately detect the wheel rotation speed.Furthermore, when the engine stops due to the wheels locking, the hydraulic pump driven by the engine stops, or the intake manifold A problem has arisen in which the vacuum pressure is lost and the anti-skid device no longer functions.

For this reason, conventional automatic clutch disengagement devices immediately disengage the clutch when the anti-skid device is activated. However, this method has the disadvantage that no auxiliary brakes such as engine brakes or exhaust brakes can be used to disengage the clutch early. In addition, with conventional clutch automatic disconnection devices, when the clutch is connected, it engages suddenly, causing a knocking phenomenon, which mixes noise into the wheel rotation speed detector, making it impossible to obtain an accurate signal, and causing inconvenience to the driver. It has the disadvantage of giving a sense of pleasure.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned drawbacks, and is intended to fully demonstrate the functions of an anti-skid device.
In addition, the present invention is aimed at ensuring comfortable driving, and its characteristics include: a first signal generator that compares the wheel rotation speed with a predetermined value and generates a low speed signal when the wheel rotation speed is less than or equal to the predetermined value; A second signal generator generates a braking signal when the braking device is activated, a third signal generator generates an activation signal when the anti-skid device is activated, and the three signals are generated together. The present invention is characterized in that a clutch actuation mechanism is provided which holds the clutch in the disconnected state when the brake signal or the actuation signal disappears, and gradually allows the clutch to be connected when the brake signal or the actuation signal disappears.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be explained below based on illustrated embodiments.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing one embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, 1 is a wheel rotation speed detector that detects a frequency proportional to the wheel rotation speed, 2 is an f-v converter that converts the frequency into a voltage, and 3 is a control circuit for the anti-skid device. outputs a braking force release signal, a braking force holding signal, or a braking force loading signal to the output line A, depending on the rotational state of the wheels.
B and C, respectively, and control a hydraulic pressure regulating valve (not shown). Further, when the vehicle decelerates to an extremely low speed, for example, 7 km/h, the control circuit 3 stops the operation of the wheel rotation speed detector 1 because the resolution of the wheel rotation speed detector 1 decreases. An output line A of the braking force relaxation signal of the control circuit 3 is connected to an input terminal of the OFF delay time circuit 4. The output signal of the off-delay time circuit 4 indicates whether the anti-skid device is active or not. That is, the off-delay timer circuit 4 generates an output signal for a certain period of time even after the braking force relaxation signal of the control circuit 3 disappears, and determines whether the control circuit 3 generates the braking force relaxation signal again during that certain period of time. This determines whether the anti-skid device is still operating. The output terminal of this timer circuit 4 is connected to one input terminal of an AND circuit 5. Further, the output terminal of the fV converter 2 is connected to a comparator 6. The comparator 6
is the voltage at converter 2 and a predetermined value, for example 15Km
, and when the voltage at the converter 2 is below a predetermined value, a low speed signal is generated.
The output terminal of the comparator 6 is connected to the other input terminal of the AND circuit 5, and the output terminal of the AND circuit 5 is connected to the set terminal S of the bistable circuit 7.

A brake switch 8 is provided near the brake pedal, and the output terminal of this switch 8 is connected to an OR circuit 9.
Connects to one input terminal of the brake pedal and transmits a braking signal while operating the brake pedal. The other input terminal of the OR circuit 9 is connected to the output terminal of the off-delay time circuit 4, and the output terminal of the OR circuit 9 is connected to the reset terminal R of the bistable circuit 7 via a NOT circuit 10. The output terminal Q of the bistable circuit 7 is connected via an amplifier 11 to a coil 12 of a solenoid valve 13 (shown in the second figure) of the clutch actuating mechanism.

FIG. 2 shows a clutch actuation mechanism consisting of a solenoid valve 13 and a clutch actuation cylinder 14.

The solenoid valve 13 has the following configuration. Housing 1
A lid 17 is fitted onto the stepped portion 16 of No. 5, and the lid 17 is provided with a hole 18, a hole 19, and a valve seat 21 that forms a valve 20 in cooperation with a sphere 33 of a valve member 32, which will be described later. . The bore 18 is connected via a passage 22 to a pressure source 23, and the bore 19 is connected via a passage 24 to a connecting bore 67 of the clutch operating cylinder 14, which will be described later. A coil 12 is provided within a box 25 that is fitted onto the housing 15. A coil 12 is connected to a conductive wire 26 that communicates with an amplifier 11 (shown in the first diagram). An armature 27 is arranged inside the housing 15, and this armature 27
The protrusion 28 fits into a groove 29 provided in the housing 15 and is slidable on the inner circumferential surface of the housing 15. A valve member 32 having a hole 31 is fitted into the stepped portion 30 of the armature 27, and a sphere 33 is fixed to the valve member 32. The valve member 32 is constantly pressed to the right in the figure by the tension of the spring 34, and the sphere 33 is normally seated on the valve seat 21. 35 is a valve member 36 fixed to the armature 27 and the housing 15
This is a valve consisting of a valve seat 37 provided in the valve seat 37. The valve 35
The valve 35 controls the communication cutoff between the chamber 38 and the passage 39 in the housing 15. Normally, the valve 35 is opened by the tension of the spring 34, but when the coil 1
2, the armature 27 moves to the left against the spring, the valve member 36 seats on the valve seat 37, and the valve 35 closes. Passage 39 communicates with reservoir 43 via connection hole 40, throttle member 41, and passage 42. This restrictor member 41 restricts the movement of hydraulic fluid into the reservoir 43 when the valve 35 is open. 44 is a piston, and the piston 44 passes through a small hole 45 provided in the housing 15 and is slidable on the inner circumferential surfaces of the small hole 45 and the inner hole 46. When the piston 44 is moved to the right while the coil 12 is energized and the valve 35 is closed, the piston 44 pushes the valve member 32 to the right,
Valve 35 is adapted to open. A plug 47 is screwed into the large hole 48 of the housing 15, and a connecting hole 49 provided in the plug 47 is connected to a clutch master cylinder 51 via a passage 50. 52
is the clutch pedal.

Further, the clutch operation cylinder 14 has the following configuration. A first piston 55 and a second piston 56 equipped with a sealing member are slidably inserted into the inner hole 54 of the cylinder body 53, and both pistons 55 and 56 can be moved toward and away from each other. The first piston 55 forms a first chamber 57 on its left side, and also has a first chamber 57 on its left side.
A second chamber 58 is formed between the piston 55 and the second piston 56. A recess 59 is provided at the right end of the second piston 56. Bushiroad 60
has one end swingably abutted against the recess 59, and the other end abutted against the with-row lever 61 of the clutch, so that it can always move forward and backward integrally with the second piston 56. The withro lever 61 is the fulcrum 6
Rotate around 2 to engage and engage the clutch. That is, when the lower lever 61 is in the position shown in the figure, the clutch is connected, and when the lever 61 is rotated clockwise, the clutch is disconnected. Reference numeral 63 indicates a boot, and reference numeral 64 indicates a spring. The spring 64 always presses the first piston 55 in the right direction in the figure, and normally the first piston 55 and the second piston 56 are in contact with each other. The first chamber 57 is connected to the clutch master cylinder 51 via a connecting hole 65 and a passage 66, and the second chamber 58 is connected to the clutch master cylinder 51 via a connecting hole 65 and a passage 66.
7 and a hole 19 of the solenoid valve 13 via a passage 24 .

The operation of this embodiment will be explained below.

Normal clutch engagement is performed as follows. The driver depresses the clutch pedal 52 to generate hydraulic pressure in the clutch master cylinder 51, which is transmitted to the first chamber 57 of the clutch operating cylinder 14 via the passage 66 and the connecting hole 65. Therefore, the first piston 55, the second piston 56, and the bushing rod 60 move integrally to the right, the with-lower lever 61 rotates clockwise, and the clutch is disconnected. In addition, clutch pedal 5
2, the hydraulic pressure in the clutch master cylinder 51 is applied to the connecting hole 49 through the passage 50.
and moves the piston 44 until it comes into contact with the valve member 32. When connecting the clutch,
The driver gradually reduces the force applied to the clutch pedal 52, moves the first piston 55, second piston 56, and bushing rod 60 slightly to the left, and slightly rotates the lever 61 counterclockwise to bring the clutch into a half-clutch state. Manipulate. Thereafter, the driver takes his foot off the clutch pedal 52 to fully engage the clutch.

Next, a case in which the driver applies braking force without disengaging the clutch in an emergency will be explained using FIG. 3.

Figure a shows wheel rotation speed detector 1 and converter 2.
1 shows a motion characteristic curve of a wheel detected by the method, where the horizontal axis is time t and the vertical axis is voltage V proportional to the axle rotation speed. When a braking force is applied at time t ₀ while the vehicle is running, the brake switch 8 is activated and a braking signal is generated as shown in FIG. At time _t1 , when the wheels tend to lock due to excessive braking force, the control circuit 3 of the anti-skid device is activated and a braking force relaxation signal is generated as shown in FIG. In response to this release signal, the pressure in the wheel cylinder is reduced by the hydraulic pressure regulating valve, and the braking force is reduced. Furthermore, the pressure source 23 starts to be driven by this loosening signal. after that,
The wheel rotational speed shows a recovery tendency, and the braking force relaxation signal disappears at time _t2 as shown in c of the same figure. but,
Thereafter, the off-delay timer circuit 4 transmits the Δt output signal to one input terminal of the AND circuit 5 for a certain period of time as shown in d of the figure.

When the rotational speed of the wheel is restored due to the decrease in braking force, a braking force loading signal is generated in the control circuit 3, and the braking force for the wheel is increased. The wheel rotational speed decreases due to the increase in braking force, and a braking force relaxation signal is generated again at time _t3 . Therefore, the output signal of the time limit circuit 4 transmitted to the AND circuit 5 is held.

After that, the same operation is repeated and the wheel rotation speed decreases until the wheel rotation speed reaches the predetermined value Vl at time _t4 .
reach. Then, the comparator 6 generates a low-speed signal as shown in FIG. Therefore, the AND circuit 5 outputs a signal to set the bistable circuit 7. As a result, the output of the bistable circuit 7 is transferred to the amplifier 11.
The coil 12 of the solenoid valve 13 is energized (f in the same figure). Then, the armature 27 slides to the left in the figure against the tension of the spring 34, and the valve 35 closes.
Also, valve 20 opens. At this time, the working fluid of the pressure source 23 flows through the passage 22, the hole 18, the hole 19, and the passage 24.
The air flows into the second chamber 58 through the air, and the pressure inside the second chamber 58 increases. Therefore, the second piston 56 is separated from the first piston 55 and the push rod 6
0 to the right in the figure, and rotate the with-lower lever 61 clockwise to disconnect the clutch. At time _t5 , the rotational speed of the wheels is restored and the low speed signal once disappears, but the bistable circuit 7 is still in the set state and the clutch is held disconnected.

If the braking force is released at time _t6 , the braking signal disappears as shown in b of the figure. Therefore,
An output is generated in the NOT circuit 10 and transmitted to the reset input terminal R of the bistable circuit 7. Therefore, the output of the bistable circuit 7 disappears, and the coil 12 is demagnetized (f in the figure). As a result, the armature 27 moves to the right within the housing 15 by the tension of the spring 34, closing the valve 20 and cutting off the supply of hydraulic fluid from the pressure source 23. On the other hand, the valve 35 is opened, and the hydraulic fluid in the second chamber 58 of the clutch operation cylinder 14 flows through the passage 24, the hole 19, the hole 31, the passage 39, and the throttle member 4.
1, are returned to the reservoir 43 via the passage 42 in sequence. Therefore, Pushrod 60 and the second
The piston 56 is pushed leftward by the with-low lever 61, and the second piston 56 returns to the position where it contacts the first piston 55, and the clutch is connected.

On the other hand, if the driver depresses the clutch pedal 52 while the coil 12 is energized before releasing the braking force, the clutch master cylinder 51
The hydraulic fluid within reaches the connection hole 49 via the passage 50 and presses the piston 44. For this reason, the piston 44
moves the armature 27 to the right against the electromagnetic force, and moves the clutch operating cylinder 14 in the same manner as described above.
The hydraulic fluid in the second chamber 58 is returned to the reservoir 43. Furthermore, even if the hydraulic fluid in the chamber 58 is returned to the reservoir 43 at this time, the hydraulic fluid flows from the clutch master cylinder 51 into the first chamber 57 through the passage 66, causing the first piston 55 to move to the right. For movement, the second piston 56 is held in a position that closes the clutch.

Furthermore, at time t ₇ , which is a certain period of time △t after the time t ₆ when the braking force is released, the output of the OFF delay time limit circuit 4 becomes d in the figure.
The signal disappears as shown in , and the low speed signal also disappears at time _t8 .

In the above explanation, an example was given in which the brake signal disappears and the clutch is connected before the output signal of the off-delay time circuit 4 disappears, in other words, before the actuation signal of the anti-skid device disappears. In this embodiment, the anti-skid device stops operating when the vehicle decelerates to an extremely low speed, so it can be easily understood from FIG. 1 that even if the activation signal obtained from the anti-skid device disappears before the brake signal disappears. As shown, the output signal of time limit circuit 4 disappears and OR
An output signal is generated in the NOT circuit 10 via the circuit 9 to reset the bistable circuit 7. Therefore, the coil 12 is demagnetized and the clutch is connected.

In this series of actions, the clutch is disengaged when the low speed signal, braking signal, and actuation signal occur together, and even if the low speed signal disappears afterwards, if the braking signal and actuation signal are still occurring, the clutch is disconnected. Since the interruption is maintained, sufficient braking force control is performed. In addition, when connecting the clutch, the hydraulic fluid used to disconnect the clutch is squeezed out using a squeezing member 4.
1 and returns to the reservoir 43, the clutch is gradually connected,
The same operation as the driver's operation once in a half-clutch state is automatically obtained.

In the embodiment described above, the clutch operating cylinder has two
Built-in pistons, the hydraulic pressure from the pressure source is transferred to the second piston.
The clutch can be automatically shut off by acting on the piston, and the clutch operating mechanism, which consists of a solenoid valve and a clutch operation cylinder, can be made smaller overall.
Moreover, the structure of the device is not complicated. In addition, it is safe because the clutch is cut off only when a low speed signal, a braking signal, and an actuation signal are generated together. For example, even if the control circuit malfunctions even though no braking force is applied, the brake switch output The signal disappears, the bistable circuit is reset via the NOT circuit, and the clutch is not cut off, making it safe. Furthermore, since the braking force release signal generated at the beginning of operation is used as the activation signal for the anti-skid device, responsiveness is good.

As is clear from the above, the present invention includes a clutch actuation mechanism that automatically operates the clutch when the rotational speed of the wheels falls below a predetermined value when the anti-skid device is activated, so that the rotational speed of the wheels reaches the predetermined value. Until then, the engine brake or exhaust brake can be fully utilized unless the driver disengages the clutch, and when the wheel rotation speed falls below a predetermined value, the clutch is disengaged to prevent the engine from stopping or knocking. The anti-skid device can be controlled normally even at extremely low speeds.Furthermore, when the clutch is automatically engaged, it is gradually engaged, thereby preventing shock caused by sudden engagement of the clutch. , does not cause discomfort to the driver.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the configuration and operation shown in the above-described embodiments; for example, a braking force holding signal may be used as an activation signal for an anti-skid device. In addition, braking signals include the output signal of a deceleration switch that activates when the vehicle decelerates above a predetermined value, the output signal of a brake fluid pressure detector that activates when the brake fluid pressure exceeds a predetermined brake pressure, and the brake light that activates while the brake pedal is operated. A signal or the like may also be used. Further, the aperture of the aperture member may be variable.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing one embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing the clutch actuation mechanism, and FIG. 3 is an operational view of the device shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. 3... Control circuit, 6... Comparator, 8... Brake switch, 12... Coil, 13... Solenoid valve, 14... Clutch operation cylinder, 55... First piston, 61... With-low lever.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1 A first unit that compares the wheel rotation speed with a predetermined value and generates a low speed signal when the wheel rotation speed is less than or equal to the predetermined value.
a second signal generator for generating a braking signal when the braking device is activated; and a third signal generator for generating an activation signal when the anti-skid device is activated; A clutch actuation mechanism for a vehicle, etc., characterized in that it is provided with a clutch actuation mechanism that disconnects and holds the clutch when both of the braking signals or the actuation signal are generated, and gradually enables the clutch to be engaged when the braking signal or the actuation signal disappears. Intermittent device.